Julius f



(No Model.)

J. F. CAMP.

STORE SERVIGE APPARATUS.

Patented Sept. 20, 1887.

INVENTUR N, PETERS. Fhamuma n mr. Washingwn, C.v C.

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ATENT Fries.

JULIUS F. CAMP, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONEHALF TO HENRY M.CLARK, OF SAME PLACE.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,180, datedSeptember 20, 1887.

Application filed February 4, 1887. Serial No. 226,599. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JULIUS F. CAMP, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, county of Franklin, and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Store-ServiceApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the improvement of store-service apparatus bymeans of which parcels, change, &c., are readily transferred from pointto point in store-rooms; and the objects of my invention are, first, toprovide a simple, neat, and inexpensive device of this class which willadmit of the speedy and effective transportation of parcels, change,due, from one station to another; second, to pro vide at one or bothends of the track or way, as hereinafter described, means forautomatically catching and holding the car; third, to

2'0 so suspend a parcel or change carrying basket beneath the car as toadmit of its being readily and effectively lowered and again raised forconvenience in reaching or placing articles therein when the car, byreason of the height of the track,is elevated inconveniently; fourth, tolocate the supporting-arms and operating mechanism of my device at sucha height as to prevent the same from interfering with the transaction ofbusiness and movements of employs beneath. These objects I accomplish inthe manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whieh- Figure lis a side elevation of the operating mechanism located at each terminusof the line. Fig. 2 is a plan View of my improved car stopping andholding device. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same. Fig. 4 is .atransverse section of the supporting-arm at the sendingstation, showinga plan view of the track-elevating block; and Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of a car and its basket, showing the means for raising and loweringthe latter.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

5 A represents a downwardly-extending metallic arm having its upper end,or an extension, a, thereof, rigidly secured to the ceiling ofastore-room. The general form of this arm A is rectangular, but, forreasons hereinafter 5o mentioned, has its rear narrow side slightlybowed outwardly from either end toward its central portion, and isprovided at suitable points with one or more guy-wires, a, the extremities of which may be secured at convenicnt points in the ceiling orwall of the room.

B represents a metallic traveling bloclrhav ing two parallel arms, aprojecting rearwardly from a solid front portion. Between these arms ais made to pass vertically the arm A, and between the outer ends of saidparallel arms is pivoted a guide-wheel, 0, having a grooved periphery,the surface of which is preferably encircled by a rubber band.

(1 and (1 represent perforated lugs made to project laterally,respectively, from near the upper and lower edges of the block B on eachside thereof and near the center of its length.

Secured to each of the upper lugs, d, is the lower end of cords e,which, passing upwardly, is made to pass over an inclosed pulley-wheel,e, carried on a pin projecting from the corre sponding side of the arm Aat a point near the upper end thereof. From the pulleys c the cords eextend downwardly and are joined in the rear of the arm A to form a sin-7 gle cord, the lower end of which is at such height from the floor asto be conveniently reached. Secured to the lower lugs, d, and made tohang loosely through holes formed in the flanged base of the arm A, arecords e".

Made to project forwardly from the front end of the block B, with whichit is preferably cast, is a stop-pin, I), having fixed on or in the endthereof a short projecting stop-plug, b of felt or other suitablewell'known material. 8 5 To the front end of the block Bis secured oneend of a trackwvire, E.

F represents a metallic rod or bar having its upper end, or an extensionthereof, secured to the ceiling of a room, preferably above theparcel-wrapping counter or cashiers desk of a store, and having itslower and enlarged end extending downward to an imaginary horizontalline drawn from about the center of the length of the arm A. Thetrack-wirc 5 E is stretched tightly between the arm A and rod F, beingmade to pass through a trans verse hole in the lower portion of said rodto any convenient place of attachment beyond.

f f are two horizontal arms, each of which is loosely pivoted near themiddle of its length between two outwardly-projecting lugs, f,

formed on the corresponding side of the enlarged lower end of the rod F.The inner side of each of the arms f, near the front end thereof, ismade to project slightly inwardly to form shoulders f said projectingportion being made to curve outwardly and forwardly to the front end ofthe arms. Arubber band, 9, is made to embrace the arms f immediately infront of the rod F, the tension of which tends to draw the arms towardeach other.

Made to project rearwardly from the lower end of the rod F is an arm, H,having on its upper side, near the rear end thereof, a shortupwardly-projecting lug, h, to which is pivoted a pair of smallpulley-wheels, h. Over these pulley-wheels is made to pass and hangbelow the same, cords i, the upper ends of which are secured,respectively, to the rear ends of the arms f.

Riveted or otherwise secured to the front side of the rod F at a pointslightly above its lower enlarged end is the upper end of adownwardly-projecting and outwardly bent spring-strip, k, the lowerportion of which extends between the arms f a short distance in front ofthe rod F.

Made to project from the front sideof the enlarged lower portion of therod F at a point between the arms f is a short stop-pin, n, havingsecured in any suitable manner within or to its outer end a piece offelt or other suitable material.

G represents an oblong car, between thesides and near each end of whichis pivoted a grooved wheel, L, said wheels being adapted to be made torun upon the track-wire E. From the under side of the car, by anysuitable well-known means, or as hereinafter described, is suspended aparcel or change hasket, M. I

' The operation of the above-described portion of my device is asfollows: The change or parcel desired to be transmitted is placed by theclerk in the basket M, the block being near the lower end of the arm A.By pulling on the cord 6 the block B is made to ascend the arm A, itsguide-wheel a traveling on the rear side of said arm, the bowed centerof which prevents the wire from becoming slack as it reaches ahorizontal position. When the track has been thus elevated to thedesired incline, it will be seen that the car will be caring the inclineof the track.

ri ed down the wire by its own weight until it is caught between theheads of the arms f, where it is held by the interlocking of shouldersformed on the sides of the car, and the shoulders f of the arms f. Whenthe car has reached its destination, the block B is then drawn downwardto its former position by pulling downward on the cord e, thus chang- Inorder to return the car, it is first necessary to disengage it from thearms j, which is readily accomplished by pulling on the cords 12, thusdrawing the rear ends of said arms toward each other sufficiently tocause the heads thereof to open and allow the ear to escape down theincline until it comes in contact with the stoppin 1). The car isassisted somewhat in starting by the pressure thereon of thespring'strip k. In order to hold the rod F and arm A rigidly in place,any desired number of guys or bracing-wires-such as those-indicated atF" and.0tmay be employed.

The rearwardly-bowed arm A is preferably formed in the shape of aflattened bar, as shown, so placed as to: bring the strain of the wireagainst the side opposite its thicker and stronger portion. I

By the above-described arrangement and construction it will be seen thatthe mechanism is so placed as to prevent the interference with thetransaction of business at any of the stations.

Where, by reason of the location of the store-furnishings or from othercauses, it is desired to suspend the track at such height as to bringthe basket outIof reach, the following means of raising and lowering thebasket-may be used: Rigidly secured between the sides of the car,(whichis preferably mortised to decrease the weight thereof,) near each endthereof, is the upper end of a downwardly-project ing arm, m,terminating in an outwardly and inwardly curved finger, m, the lower endof which is bent outwardly. Pivoted to each of said arms m is alaterally-projecting arm, 12, which, curving outwardly and downwardlyuntil it bears against the side of the arm m, is continued to form afinger, p, which, conforming to the shape of the finger m, is bent in anopposite direction therewith, said fingers meeting to form a clutchimmediately above their lower outwardly-bent ends." The upperterminations of said arms p are joined by a horizontal connecting-rod,g. Fixedbetween the sides of the car at points between the arms at arecross-pieces r r, from the lower side of each of which is suspended asmall pulley-wheel, r. Each pair of arms at and 10 is encircled by arubber band, 8, the tension of which tends to draw the lower ends of thefingers together. T represents a horizontal basket-handle rod from whichis suspended the basket M. This.

rod T is adapted to rest normally within the angle formed by the meetingof the fingers m and p, asshown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Secured tothe rod T at equidistant points from its center are the ends of a cord,15, which,passing upward over the pulleys '1', drops down a convenientdistance below the basket. From the center of the length of the rod g issuspended a cord, u. The fingers may be opened to admit of lowering thebasket by pulling on the cord to, causing the fingers p to move outward.The parcel or change having been placed within the basket, the lattermay be raised to its former position by pulling on the cord it until therod T forces open and enters the fingers. Each end of the car G isprovided with a notched projection, w, adapted to forma guide for thewire E and prevent any inclination of the car to leave the track.

In case it is desired, a similar device to that above described forcatching and holding the car may be used at both stations.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is'

1. A store-service apparatus comprising the bowed arm A, carryingsliding block B, its guidewheel c, and stop-pin b, pulley e, cords e"and 6, with the rod F, connecting track-wire E and its car G, pivotedarms f, and springband 9, and projecting arm H, carrying pulleys handcords i, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A store-service apparatus comprising the bowed arm A, carryingsliding block B, its guide-wheel 0, and stoppin b, pulley e, cords e 6,with the connecting traclcwire E J ULIUS F. CAMP.

Witnesses:

H. M. CLARK, E. M. TIPTON.

